Mid-Michigan bakeries keep tradition of serving Fat Tuesday Paczki

Courtesy Photo - Cops and Doughnuts
Fifth-Generation baker Matt Hamilton makes paczki at Cops and Doughnuts in Clare on Feb 11. His mother had a bakery called Van’s Model Bakery, which was located in Mt. Pleasant which ran from the 1940s to the 1970s.

Courtesy Photo - Cops and Doughnuts
A paczki shows its filling at Cops and Doughnuts in Clare on Feb 11. Doughnuts like these have been shipped nationally and internationally, according to President Greg “Ryno” Rynerson.

As Lent approaches, Fat Tuesday marks one of the busiest days of the year for Michigan bakeries.

At the center of Fat Tuesday are the Polish filled doughnuts known as paczki. Hundreds were made at Robaire’s in Mt, Pleasant.

Tens of thousands were made at Cops and Doughnuts in Clare.

The paczek is made like any other doughnut, but it’s large size and different fillings is what makes it a Fat Tuesday indulgence.

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Both bakeries are offering a variety of fillings, including blueberry, custard and prune.

“Our most popular flavors would have to be the apple, the custard and the cream,” Robaire’s owner Dina Desormes said.

This year both establishments expected a large influx of patrons, even before the day starts.

“We usually have lines of people outside the doors before we open,” says Cops and Doughnuts President Greg “Ryno” Rynearson.

Robaire’s is selling around 700 dozen paczki this year, while Cops and Doughnuts are expecting to make around 31,000 paczki.

Desormes said that Robaire’s plans to go through around five to six dozen eggs for the custard alone.

Cops and Doughnuts are using seven and three-fourths tons of product, including 100 pounds of frying grease, according to Rynearson.

Desormes said she is expecting to sell fewer Paczki this year, suggesting it is a result of people watching their health.

With the opening of the Central Precinct in Mt. Pleasant and success in other locations across the state, Cops and Doughnuts are expecting to double their Paczki numbers this year.

Cops and Doughnuts have made the doughnut since it’s opening in 1896, while Robaire’s started making them 45 years ago.

“We starting making them after the media and TV made a big deal about it being a Fat Tuesday tradition,” Desormes said.

Paczki are ordered in advance, with people putting in orders as early as January.

Robaire’s makes their Paczki a day before Fat Tuesday in-house.

Cops and Doughnuts make some in advance while making some the day before. They are made at the Clare and Bay City locations.

With Cops and Doughnuts gaining national attention, they started shipping out orders on Jan. 16. This is the fifth year that Cops and Doughnuts have shipped to all 50 states, according to Rynearson.

Robaire’s sourced their recipe from Hamtramck, a polish-american city surrounded by Detroit. Cops and Doughnuts got their recipe from the Foss family when they bought the bakery from them.

“We’re not real clear on where the recipe came from,” Rynearson said.

Both consider the day one of the busiest, but Desormes said Thanksgiving is busier. Rynearson said it was the busiest day of the year.